There are only a few known processes available for the production of secondary-butyl alcohol. Secondary-butyl alcohol is known to be produced from a C.sub.4 hydrocarbon stream from which butadiene and isobutylene have been extracted. The remaining butane-butylene stream is reacted with sulfuric acid and the resulting sulfates are hydrolyzed by water to yield the alcohol and sulfuric acid. Overall conversion is about 84 percent with 0.9 pound of butylenes consumed per pound of secondary-butanol produced. Another known technique is the direct hydration in the vapor phase by passing 1-butene and steam over a solid catalyst containing phosphoric acid and oxides of certain metals at 240.degree. C. and 10 atmospheres pressure as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,052,095 to Joshua, et al. Another process to produce secondary-butyl alcohol is by fermentation.
British Patent No. 776,073 to Esso Research and Engineering Company describes the esterification of olefins, especially ethylene, with a fluorinated carboxylic acid in the presence of sulfuric acid to produce a saturated alkyl ester of the fluorinated carboxylic acid. For example, ethylene reacted with trifluoroacetic acid would produce ethyl trifluoroacetate acid and propylene reacted with trifluoroacetic acid would produce propyl trifluoroacetate. It should be noted that in the disclosure of the British Patent, that the same number of carbon atoms of the olefin are present in the alkyl portion of the resulting alkyl fluoroester.